Couple escapes burning truck without injury

CORWITH TWP. — Ted and Kathy Susan of Napa, Calif. want to send a big “thank-you” to the Otsego County Sheriff’s Dept. and the Vanderbilt/Corwith Township Fire Dept.

The Susans, in town visiting family, were camping at Round Lake in Corwith Township on Sept. 20 around 6:30 p.m. when a fire started in the generator they kept in the back of their 2000 Dodge pickup to power their 27-foot camping trailer.

“Thank you. God bless you for your quick response and for the kindness they extended to us, for the comfort they offered,” Kathy said to those who helped them during and after the fire in an interview with the Herald Times.

The fire department arrived on scene about a half hour after the fire erupted and was able to extinguish it in about 15 minutes, according to fire chief Mike Czykoski. Response time was delayed because the Susans did not have cell phone reception at the campsite, said Czykoski, who explained a neighboring camper called in the fire using OnStar in his truck.

Advertisement

According to Kathy, 66-year-old Ted was in the trailer when the fire ignited and was separated for several minutes from Susan and two other family members camping with them.

“I thought he was dead. I thought the trailer had gone up. In my mind, I’d heard trailers go up like matchsticks … I felt hopeless — it was too dangerous to get near him … we were praying our hearts out,” said Susan, 63, who heard several large bangs which were believed to be cans of beer stored in the truck exploding in the heat.

After his initial efforts with a fire extinguisher failed, Ted moved the truck away from the trailer. While the truck ended up a total loss, the trailer suffered little damage, except that the fire’s heat melted the plastic covering the propane tanks for the trailer. The fire did, however, end up spreading across the ground.

“It could have been a lot worse,” said Otsego County deputy Justin Holzschu, who responded to the scene.

Czykoski agreed the fire could have been more severe, considering the amount of diesel fuel in the truck and other fuels the Susans had packed as part of their three-month trip to the Michigan and then on to the East Coast.

“The fuel tank in the truck was a diesel and it did rupture so there was fuel on the ground that contributed to the fire,” Czykoski said.

Both first-responders said the truck was fully engulfed upon their arrival and that flames were at least 10 feet high.

For the Susans, married for 45 years, the first responders’ efforts were very important. Time for them is a little more precious these days.

Last March, doctors found a malignant gastrointestinal stromal tumor in Ted’s abdomen which could not be treated with chemotherapy. After surgery, doctors informed the Susans that the cancer had metastasized and spread; meaning Ted could live about a year unless cancer therapy drugs were effective. The medicine’s early success has the Susans hopeful for another five or six years together, but they realize that could change.

“(Time is) absolutely precious. These are precious moments that may not be able to be replaced. These are precious times,” said a thankful Kathy.

With the fire behind them, the Susans left Gaylord on Tuesday, continuing their trip out East before they return to California in time for Ted’s next medical appointments.